nly had its own
direct and immediate beneficial effects, but it also did much to
prepare the way for the abolition of flogging. Many years, indeed, had
to pass before this latter reform could be accomplished, but it was
clear that, when the manning of the Navy no longer brought with it its
captures from the criminal classes, the time was coming for the gradual
adoption of a system of discipline more in accordance with the
principles of humanity and the character of a noble service. As we
have seen in all previous experiences of reform, the forebodings of the
anti-reformers proved to be utterly false alarms in regard to the
manning and the discipline of the Navy. We have seen some foreign wars
since the days of William the Fourth, and we have heard alarms of
foreign invasion again and again. But the Navy, under its improved
conditions, has never been in want of volunteers to man it, and the
greatest lovers of peace have always proclaimed it to be the surest and
best defence of the country. There were many leading men in the House
of Commons since those days who persistently demanded a reduction in
the Army on the very ground that England could safely defy any foreign
foe so long as she had the bulwark of such a Navy.

[Sidenote: 1840--The new Houses of Parliament]

One great, solid, and picturesque memorial is destined to associate the
reign of William the Fourth with the history of English architecture.
We speak of the Houses of Parliament which stand on the banks of the
river, and thus have the Thames on one side and Westminster Abbey on
the other. The great range of halls, towers, and terraces, arches,
squares, and court-yards, which, until comparatively recent days, were
often described in common phrase as the New Houses of Parliament, owe
their origin and their plan, although not their complete construction,
to the reign of William the Fourth. On the evening of October 16,
1834, the old buildings in which the Lords and the Commons used to
assemble were completely destroyed by fire. The fire broke out so
suddenly on that evening and spread with such extraordinary rapidity
that many of those {268} who were engaged in occupations of one kind or
another in various parts of the buildings had much difficulty in
escaping with their lives. The flames spread so fast that in an almost
incredibly short space of time the two Houses of Parliament, and almost
all the offices, residences, and other buildings attached to